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Saturday, April 14, 2018

Tim O'Connor Passes On

Tim O'Connor, who starred in the TV shows Peyton Place and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, died on April 5 at the age of 90. The cause was cancer.

Tim O'Connor was born in Chicago on July 3 1927. During World War II he served in the United States Navy. After his service he studied acting at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. In the early Fifties he moved to New York City, where he appeared Off-Broadway in Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. He made his film debut in Master Minds in 1949. He made his television debut in an episode of Look Up and Live in 1954 and appeared in an episode of Brenner in 1959. In 1960 he appeared in episodes of such shows as Diagnosis: Unknown and The DuPont Show of the Month.

In the Sixties Mr. O'Connor guest starred on such shows as Way Out, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone, General Hospital, Espionage, The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, The Name of the Game, Daniel Boone, and Dan August. He had a recurring role on The Defenders and starred in the night time soap opera Peyton Place.

In the Seventies Tim O'Connor guest starred on such shows as Mannix, Longstreet, Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., The Manhunter, Get Christie Love!, The Rockford Files, All in the Family, The Six Milllion Dollar Man, Police Story, Cannon, Maude, Columbo, The Streets of San Francisco, Lou Grant, Police Woman, Wonder Woman, Barnaby Jones, and M*A*S*H. He starred in the first season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He appeared in the films Wild in the Sky (1972), The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Across 110th Street (1972), Sssssss (1973), and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979).

In the Eighties Mr. O'Connor had a recurring role on the TV show Dynasty. He guest starred on such shows as M*A*S*H; Vega$; Matt Houston; Knight Rider; The A-Team; Murder, She Wrote; Dallas; and Doogie Howser, M.D. He appeared in the film La cruz de Iberia (1990). In the Nineties he guest starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation; Walker, Texas Ranger; and The Burning Zone. He appeared in the film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991). His last appearance was in the movie Dreams Awake (2011).

Tim O'Connor was an extraordinary actor. While he played plenty of military officers and cops in this career, he also played a variety of roles. He played the newspaper man who had previously spent years in prison for a crime he did not commit on Peyton Place. In Sssssss he played a carnival freak show owner. On All in the Family he planned an old flame of Edith. Tim O'Conner could play a variety of roles. What is more, regardless of the material, he always brought a depth to his role. There should be little surprise that he was very much in demand for roles in the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties.